Monarchs chief plans Scottish Open – but seeks suitable date

DAVID KINVIG

Edinburgh Monarchs chairman Alex Harkess insists speedway’s Scottish Open will go ahead this season – once a suitable date is found.

The Open – the oldest individual event north of the Border – was left off Monarchs’ fixture list, raising fears the meeting would not be staged in 2016.

However, Harkess today said: “The meeting is planned but we don’t know when.

“A lot depends on how successful we are as a team and things like that. We want to assemble as many top riders as we can and that is always difficult nowadays.

“Especially if some of our own riders are involved in FIM international events and you don’t always know if they are going to be in them or not. “

The Scottish Open is sponsored by Harrisons Ford motor dealers and Harkess revealed: “They are still perfectly happy to back the event. There is no problem there.”

In recent years, the event was switched to summer months but Harkess said it could be pushed back to its once traditional end-of-season showpiece.

But he added: “The only trouble with that is you have no idea who is going to be involved in the play-offs. And riders, if their season finishes early, want to get home early. However, it is still our plan to hold it.”